You May Soon Be Able to Refuel Your Electric Car In Minutes

Think how long it takes to charge your phone or the battery for your digital camera. What if you could charge them in a few minutes? Now, what if you could charge your electric car that fast? Researchers at Purdue University may have a way to make that happen.

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John Cushman, Purdue University distinguished professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary science and a professor of mathematics, is commercializing a technology that could provide an “instantly rechargeable” method for electric and hybrid vehicle batteries through a quick and easy process similar to refueling a car at a gas station.

The New Charging Station is No Charging Station

Right now, electric vehicles need to stop and recharge their batteries every so often, putting them out of commission for a couple of hours. So how can they recharge so much faster? Researchers created an "energy storage system that would enable drivers to fill up their electric or hybrid vehicles with fluid electrolytes to re-energize spent battery fluids much like refueling their gas tanks," said Eric Nauman, one of the researchers on the project..

In other words, drivers would drive up to a gas station and swap out old battery fluids and electrolytes for new ones. The old fluids would then be recharged at a separate site and brought back to the charging station for future drivers to use.

Charging stations no longer needed.

A Whole New World... of Electric Vehicles

The new technology would virtually eliminate the need to stop and recharge an electric car's battery, and as a result, eliminate the need for the heavy infrastructure of recharging stations around the country.

The researchers are looking for investors to help bankroll their project. In the meantime, they've founded the company Ifbattery to help them develop the technology and find a way to sell it. If they can secure funding, they hope to complete research and then put the batteries into mass production, changing the world of electric vehicles as we know it.